A THOUSAND WORDS - Alex Waterhouse-Hayward's blog on pictures, plants, politics and whatever else is on his mind.

The Seville Mantilla & Mary Surratt

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Caitlin Legault

It is my belief that
what makes us human and not dogs, cats or whales is
our ability to associate apparently disparate things with each other.Rorschach tests would fail with dog, cats
or whales. When human fail such a test it involves a failure of the psyche not
of their humanity.

I would like to be clear that even though I
have an uncommon interest in anything relating to the American Civil War I have
yet to see Robert Redford’s 2010 film The Conspirator. The film is about the trial
and guilty verdict of the housekeeper Mary Surratt who was then hanged, the first
woman to be hanged by a federal court in the United States. There are some
pictures of the hanging where Surratt and thee other co-conspirators are seen
in far away.

My new and exciting photographic subject is
the marvelous Caitlin Legault. She is a professional life drawing and figure
model. She is used to keeping a pose for a long time. Of late she has been
posing for video makers who expect her to make rapid movement.

In my many years as a photographer I have
only met one person who can match Legault’s talent. This was Carole Taylor.

I remember taking her picture (this I did
many times) in one of the basement corridors of the CBC when she was working
there on TV. I had my big camera and lights. She looked wonderful in my
viewfinder. I would think, “If she nods a bit to the left this will look even
better.” Like magic Taylor
would then do just that without instruction.

Legault poses for me and like Taylor I don’t have to
tell her much. The poses happen. They seem to be instinctive. The image here is
one of only one where she did the blindfold (using my Grandmother's Seville mantilla which she wore to Mass). I took the picture and I then told
her:

“ This reminds me of the blindfolding of
Mary Surratt before she was hanged. She was a woman at the end of the American
Civil war that…”

I found this which will keep me busy for a few more days. I have the film The Conspirator so I will watch that too.

President Andrew Johnson's Last Words on Mary Surratt

The following is an excerpt from The
Greeneville-Democrat-Sun, Wednesday, May 30, 1923 (p.1). The article contains
information regarding Johnson's thoughts on Mary Surratt just three days before
he died at his daughter's home near present day Elizabethton, then Carter's
Station, TN. A Mr. McElwee of the American Steel Association accompanied
Johnson on the train ride to Johnson City, and then on to Carter's Station in a
carriage, during which time Johnson talked openly and freely of his time in
office. Mr. McElwee later submitted a manuscript of the conversation to the
state archives.

Note: The misspellings are part of the
original article and have been left as printed. They will be identified by
[sic].

"While Mr. McElwee, explained that he
was not attempting to quote the exact words of Mr. Johnson, he gives the
substance of the political conversation.

'The execution of Mrs. Surrat [sic] was a
crime of passion without justice or reason. She knew no more about the
intentions of Booth and his associates than any other preson [sic] who chanced
to know Booth or Asterot. They had simply boarded as others had done, at her
boarding house. She was entitled to trial in open court and the record of that
trial preserved, but her executioners knew the records would condemn them if
they kept till passion had subsided and they were estroyed' [sic].

'Is there no record of the condemnation and
execution of Mrs. Surratt?'

'No Sir, the records were immediately
destroyed. They were not even kept until John was arrested and tried.'

'If she was not guilty, why did you not
interpose executive clemency?'

'If I had interfered with the execution it
would have meant my death and a riot that would have probably ended in war.'

'Was there any appeal made to you for
mitigating the sentence as reported after the execution.'

'No appeal reached me. Her daughter forwarded
one, but it was suppressed by Secretary Stanton. I heard of it afterward but
never saw it. It was murder founded on perjury and executed to gratif pyassion
[sic]. The chief witness afterwards confessed to his perjury.'"